A Liturgy for Setting and Achieving Goals

The midpoint of the year is a natural time to step back and take stock of our goals. While there are many ways we could come alongside you as you do this (and we do highly recommend our three-step mid-year refresh!), this year, we wanted to offer something different: a liturgy.

What is a liturgy? As defined by our friends at The Daily Grace Co., "liturgy is a guide for worship—a means of leading God’s people into praising Him and communing with Him." While it has traditionally referred to corporate worship services, liturgy can also refer to any guide or structure for worshiping God—including, more recently, the act of reciting prewritten prayers alone as an individual act of worship. 

If you're a person of faith who wants to worship God as you set and achieve your goals, we offer this liturgy. Recite it as you dig into your PowerSheets® Prep Work, as you check in on your Tending List, before you dive into a goal work session, or as you review your progress so far this year. We hope it reshapes your thinking, ignites your imagination, and shifts your focus onto the God who never fails.

A Liturgy for Setting and Achieving Goals

O Lord of all work that is good and holy,
bless and keep my goals.

When I cast vision for a new season, Lord,
for all that I might do and accomplish --
the sweeping changes, the tiny habits --
be near to me, Lord.
Guide my ambitions to be ones
that honor you, 
that better your people,
that echo:
Thy will be done.
Thy kingdom come.

And as I pursue these goals, Lord,
help me to fall into step beside You.
Help me to keep a steady pace, 
for I am prone to jagged inelegance:
either surging ahead or drifting behind.
Let me work with diligence
on the projects that will make earth 
more like heaven,
and give me faithfulness in the habits
that will make me more like You:
compassionate and gracious,
slow to anger,
abounding in love and faithfulness.
Encourage me to be steadfast
in the mundane, the daily, the unseen,
trusting that You are well pleased
by even the smallest efforts
when they are aimed toward You.
Remind me that little by little
really does add up.

When I chase after perfection,
remind me that You, O Lord,
are the only one who is perfect,
who makes no mistakes,
who never needs to pivot.
Help me to rest in your sovereignty
instead of chasing my own standards.

When I am lazy, Lord,
strum my heart.
Remind me that all that I am
and all that I have 
should be used to bless others,
to glorify You,
and to enjoy you forever.

When I fail, Lord
(because I will fail),
remind me that You do not love us
because we succeed,
but because we are Yours.
Remind me that You offer a fresh start
whenever I need it:
a crisp sheet,
a blank page,
a future as white as snow.

And when I succeed,
fix my eyes on You,
not on my own success.
Let it sink deep into my soul
that I can do nothing apart from You,
and let that knowledge make me glad.

Most of all, O God,
the good Gardener,
tend this patch of ambition alongside me.
Bless my efforts and
spread the harvest wide.
Bring a flourishing bounty of

beauty
mercy
justice
order
generosity
and love,

so that all who draw near will know
what it is
to taste and see that the Lord is good.

Amen.